Florida, The Gulf Coast

I have visited the Gulf Coast of Florida several times and it is a place that I always love going back to. I always stay in Sarasota which is a lovely town with award winning beaches and lots of art and culture. I flew into Tampa which is about a 50 minute drive away or you can fly into Orlando which is about 2.5 hours away.

The thing I like most about Sarasota is the great selection of beaches available. If you want to, you can go to a different beach every day. My favourite is Siesta Key with its powder white sand and lots of trendy local restaurants where you can always get delicious fresh fish. I also like Turtle Beach and no stay is complete without a visit to one of my favourite restaurants 'The Sand Bar' at Marco Island which is right on the beach. I would also recommend a trip to St Armands Circle which has some lovely boutique style shops and great restaurants.

There are lots of great places to visit for a day trip including Tampa for shopping or Busch Gardens. There are also day trips to Venice, Captiva or Sanibel Island, which I always think has a Caribbean feel to it and of course, more beautiful beaches. I would definitely recommend this area of Florida where you will be guaranteed to have a great holiday.